The basic aims of this project are to isolate the enzymes involved in: 1. Vitamin KH2 - dependent glutamyl residue dehydrogenation; 2. glutamyl carboxylation; 3. vitamin K epoxidation; 4. vitamin K epoxide reduction; 4. vitamin K epoxide reduction; 5. vitamin K quinone reduction; to determine the required co-factors for these reactions and agents which will block these reactions. From these studies it should be possible to re-assemble a protein carboxylase system and to determine its mechanism of reaction. The next step will, of course, be to determine how this carboxylation reaction fits into post-translational protein modification. This will involve the possible roles of glycosylation and of signal peptide in the reaction, in determining the shutting off of carboxylation over the rest of the polypeptide chain after the pre-requisite number of initial glutamyl residues are carboxylated.